Good To Know : How To Check If An NGO Is Genuine

Non-governmental organisations(NGO) are founded towards a particular cause. Mostly consisting of volunteer members, these groups campaign to raise awareness and collect funds towards their cause and for the betterment of the society. These organisations don’t work to make a profit and are independent of the state and the national governments.

They are usually charitable and receive tax exemption once they are registered. The people donating money to these organisations can also receive income tax rebate up to 50% of their taxable income.

However, there are some organisations forever looking to dupe people of their money by posing as NGOs. Because of fraud NGOs, people are losing confidence in the genuine NGOs.

PART 1

Ways To Checking Whether The NGO You’re Donating To Is Genuine Or Not.

1The NGOs which receive grants from the government come under the purview of RTI act. If the NGO says that it receives funding from the government, ask the head for details of the funds they got and how they utilised them. Genuine NGOs publish their fund details and utilisation reports on their website.

2The Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) regularly releases names of blacklisted NGOs – check before you donate. Or approach an NGO through Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India, which certifies the credibility of charitable institutions. Though the certification is not compulsory, genuine NGOs prefer to register themselves with CAF to obtain credibility.
3You can verify the registration, their Tax Exemption Certificate and the cause they claim to support. Better still visit the organisation to get a fair idea about their operations.
4You can ask for their annual reports, and a good NGO will be happy to provide them to you. Studying annual reports of the NGO will also help you understand the working and spending patterns of the organisation.
5Genuine NGOs usually provide reports or updates on causes they work for so keep in touch with the NGO even after you have donated money – following up with them will ensure that the money you donated is being used for the right purpose.
6If you cannot decide whom to give to or for what cause, you can approach organisations like ICICI Communities, GiveIndia, CAF or CRY. They work for multiple causes and will utilise your money wisely and efficiently.
7There is also help at hand by called “Credibility Alliance, which is itself an NGO made to keep a check on other NGOs. The donor needs only to check if a particular NGO is in the list of Credibility Alliance’s website http://credibilityalliance.org/. There is another organisation also acting as a checkpoint called Give India. Give India’s website, has an alphabetical list of NGOs that are eligible to receive donations through them.
8The method of payment also plays an important part in verifying whether the NGO is authentic or not. The best and the most cost-effective way is to pay directly to the NGO either by sending a cheque or online. Do not go by paying to agents of the NGO commonly known as direct selling agents (DSA), who get a commission on the collections. DSAs work on high commissions amounting to about 40-50%. So, the capital meant to be used for noble causes is getting halved by the DSAs.
9After checking the credentials, there is the option to donate items. You can donate books, clothes, toys, etc. You can also choose to spend time rather than money.
10Blacklisted NGO’s: Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.11List of NGO’s listed with NITI Ayog:http://ngo.india.gov.in/ngo_search1_ngo.php
So donate as you want to but make sure to keep donating, for as Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give”
Disclaimer: * This information is subject to periodic government policy/process change. Kindly contact the concerned department to cross check for recent updates, if any.